Dental appliance



oct. 19, 1948;.y F, J, MQYLAN 2,451,766

DENTAL APPLIANCE Filed June 17, 1947 Patented Oct. 19, 1948 UNITED STATES. PATENT OFFICE 2,451,166' Y DENTAL-Anuman Francis J. Meyla. Scrantonr Pa..- Appucsuon June -17 g 1941', sensi nl. mme

(o1. ava-19;

v5- Claims.- l

rIhis invention relates to the art of prosthetic dentistry and is concerned partoularly with an apparatus for recording, a bite and at the sametime stimulating the muscles of mastication in order that the upper and lower casts may be properly related to each otherv and therefore these casts will assume the same relation as the upper and lower jaws whenv mounted on an articulator.

Thisinvention is an improvement over the'construction shown and claimed in my Patent 2,245,- 288 issued June. l0, 1941, and whiley it may be used to record a bite in the same manner asA that disclosedA in. said patent, its primary function is to stimulate the muscles of mastication, to properly balance the casts and to cause proper intrusion of the condyle into the glennoid' fossa.

While possessing all of the advantages of the construction shownin my patent, the present invention deals with a construction that is moreY accurate in use and which is more readily manipulated. by the dentist when mounted in theV oral cavity of the patient. l

In the aforesaid patent, emphasis was laid on the fact that a heavy spring was interposed between the maxilla and the mandible and positioned relative theretoi so that in the act of taking" a bite, the condyles are forced to their highest point in the. glennoid fossae to insure true centric occlusion.

It has been found, however, that in many patients the normal position, of the oondyle in. the glennoid fossae is not necessarily'at the' highest point therein and they present invention, therefore, is to cause intrusion of` the` condyle into the glennoid fossa so that it will attain its normaly positiontin the act of biting whether true centric; occlusion is present or--not.

It is to be understood, of course, that the pres-- ent invention can function in the. same manner as that disclosed in the patent, that is, to record the movement of the mandible on' a wafer as disclosed in the patent, but in usingA the patented construction, it was found that in many instances, the use of the multiple teeth on the rack did not accomplish the desired results becausev thespointsbetween open and closed condition of the' capsule either were passed to completly closed position` orV the patient was left with a bite which was toofar open.

The present invention eliminates such objection:

and relies upon normalv intrusionv of the condylesintothe glennoid fossae, after the vetical dimension has been secured by meansof customaryv measurements.L

In the act of biting, contacty ismade lietuvcen-4 the upper'andlower teethlinitially at a point ad jacent tcrtlel first bicuspi'd's;. after which biting force causes the mandible to fulcrum about this poinn progressively bringing: the posterior teem into occlusion, due te aetifcin.` of; the mainz masticating. musclesi such as the masseter, internal, pterygoidT and: temporal musclesy which` force-f the condyles' into? the glemioid fossae and;

vthe presentinventinn. designed primarily to stimulate thev actionsoff` these muscles sir that the condyle assumes the normal position for the particular patient: in the of biting.

Since the apparatus of: patent' and of thev present invention lies=.wholly wil-:hin` the; oral cav ity, it must be 'ot such simple construetionfthat it can be readily manipulatectby' the fingers' ofthey dentist and: the present invention improvesthe construc'tionA of my patent order: tot facilitareth'e necessary` nrmnipul'atoirfs.

Referring now to the drawings in which IV have' illustrated the preferred embodiment of my invention and;` in; whiclfiV corresponding: parts arev similarly' numbered:

Fig'l 1 isa-a vertical: sectional: view of. my' invention Fig. 2 is a side: elevation of the capsule lig;y 3;k a. horizontal; sectional viewA taken on ther line/3e-3f-'F1Ut- 2 Fig.; t .iseuries` of! the capsulewith the parts dis'- assembled. toshow tne-interiorconstruction Fig; 5^ isaside elevationotthe innerh cup' mem het.. I

61: isla normanl sectienal viewv taken onA the line 6 82 or Figi. 5t

With particular reference. te: the"- drawing, the present inventiondisclosesA upper plate I andi a lower` plate 2l wtcnmaybe of vulcanite, sheliacf, or; other suitable materiali shaped from. casts of the sum1 ridges. ci the manille; amtrn'anciibie, re#` spectivelyr.

Secured toftheupper platen-:1 isa capsule: 31whicn. consists of an inner invertedicup land-f` arr outer 7 cup 51 telescoplng.: over the innen-cup and' having aclose'ddowen end. Siprovidedswith aastylus le,

The: inner cupi member Il has a: closed; upper emit` 8 provided withn al. threaded aperture. Bf tofreceive` end ot thetinner capsule so asfto. retain the inner cupT im properly adjustedposititm` toward` or' away;

from the upper plate The lower plate 2 is provided with a table I4 on which is carried a wax wafer I5 having a thin, flexible foil facing strip I6 similar to that shown in said patent.

The wafer |5 and foil I6 are secured to the table |4 in any suitable manner, and must be located centrally below the stylus'l so that in the act of biting the stylus bites into the wafer by forcing the exible f oil disc into the same so that if the device is to be used as a recordinginstrument, movement of the mandible will cause the stylus to scribe the well-known Gothic arch or if recording is not desired, the forcing of the stylus into the wax wafer prevents undue slipping of the stylus from its proper position.

Interposed between the inner cup member 4 and the outer cup 5 is a ilat helical spring I'| with the convolutions thereof in frictional engagement with one end of the spring bearing upon the closed end of the inner cup 4 and the other end bearing upon the closed end of the outer cup 5 and normally biasing the cups away from each other.

In order that the cups may not be completely separated from each other, th'e inner cup 4 is provided at its lower end with a ange I8 providing an annular shoulder I9 and the lower cup 5 is provided with spring-pressed detents and 2|, here shown as two in number and lying at diametrically opposite points on the circumference of the outer cup 5. y

The detents 20 and 2| tures 22 and 23 in the side 5 and engage the shoulder I9 on the upper cup 4, thereby arresting complete separating movement ofthe cups relative to each other.

The detents 2D and 2| are carried at the free ends of semi-circular flat springs 24 and 25 which encircle the outer cup and are secured thereto by screws 26 and 21.

With the inner cup 4 and outer -cup 5 in the position shown in Fig. 1, the capsule 3 is in its fully expanded position land in such position it is secured to the upper plate I, the plates placed in the mouth of the patient and the lower Wafer positioned below the stylus 1.

The capsule 3 is then adjusted along the screw threaded stem I Il until the stylus contacts the foil disc I6, after which' the patient is instructed to bite. Such action results in collapsing the spring and imparting telescoping movement between the cups 4 and 5. and 2| ride upwardly on the outer surface of the inner cup 4 and up the inclined face 29 which extends circumferentially about the inner cup, after which they snap behind the annular shoulder 30 formed by the outwardly inclined surface 29.

The act of collapsing the capsule is against the force of the spring and consequently the jaws are placed under load with the result that the condyle is forced to its normal position of intrusion within the glennoid fossa.

When the detents 20 and 2| are in engagement with the annular shoulder 30, the capsule is in its fully contracted position and in order that the capsule may again be readilyioperated so as to assume its expanded condition, there are provided diametrically opposed, fiat, land portions 3| and 32 which intersect the inclined surface 29 and permit the detents to be returned to position in engagement with the shoulder I9 on the inner cup.

This is made possible by' grasping the outer cup project through aperwalls of the lower cup In this action the detents 20 at the knurled band portion 33 and rotating the same on the inner cup 4 until the detents'align with the land portions 3| and 32 at which time expansion of the spring I'l will cause separating movement between the cups 4 and 5.

When it is desired to collapse and lock the capy patent.

It will be further seen that the present invention may be used to obtain all of the advantages of the patented construction, but that it eliminates some of the defects,

I claim:

l. In a device of the class described comprising a plate carried by the maXilla and a plate carried by the mandible, a capsule mounted on one of said plates comprising telescoping cup-shaped members and a spring interposed therebetween normally biasing the members away from each other, cooperating means on the cup-shaped members for locking the cups in contracted p0- sition upon movement of the cups toward each other, one of said cup-shaped members being rotatable relative to the other to release said locking means and permit expansion of the members under the action of the spring.

2. In a device ofthe class described comprising a plate carried by the maXilla and a plate carried by the mandible, a capsule mounted on one of said plates comprising an inner inverted cup and an outer cup telescoped over the inverted cup and spring biased away from each other, said outer cup being slidably and rotatably carried by the inner cup, latch means carried by the outer cup and engaging the inner cup to hold the cups in contracted position and means for rotating the outer cup and latch to release the latch means and permit separating movement thereof under the action of the spring.

3. In a device of the class described comprising a plate carried by the maxiila and a plate carried by the mandible, a capsule mounted on the maxillary plate comprising telescoping upper and lower cup-shaped members normally biased to separated position, an annular flange at the lower end of the upper cup and spring pressed detents carried by said lower cup and engaging said ange Y to prevent complete separation of said cup members, an annular, outwardly and upwardly inclined surface on said inner cup-shaped member spaced above said flange and forming an annular shoulder, said detents engaging behind said shoulder when the cups are moved together to hold the same in retracted position.

4. In a device of the class described comprising a plate carried `by the maxilla and a plate carried by the mandible, a capsule mounted on the maxillary plate comprising telescoping upper and lower cup-shaped members normally biased to separated position, an annular flange at the lower end of the upper cup and spring pressed detents carried by said lower cup and engaging said iiange to prevent complete separation of said cup members, an annular, outwardly and upwardly inclined surface on said inner cup-shaped member spaced above said flange and forming an annular shoulder, said detents engaging behind said nular shoulders on said inverted cup and latch means carried by said cup and engaging said shoulders to latch the cups in contracted or expanded position, said latch means comprising semi-circular, flat, leaf springs encircling the cup member and having one end secured thereto, the iree ends of said springs carrying latching detents projecting through said cup and into the path of movement of said shoulders.

FRAN CISNJ MOYLAN.

No references cited. 

